A Decade's First Date
by Strelitzia Noir
Summary: "I think the question should be why didn't we end up like this sooner?" [Phaya ft. Justicykes. Spoilers for SoJ]


**DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings belong to CAPCOM.**

* * *

"Are you serious, Mr. Wright?"

"Do I look like the type to joke around with these things, Apollo?"

"No, but...why are you asking me?"

"Because lately, you're much more knowledgeable in these things than I am right now."

Here's the current situation: We have Phoenix Wright, the 36 year old legendary attorney, Turnabout Terror and King of Bluffing, asking his protege, the 25 year old Apollo Justice for dating tips in his upcoming date with his long time friend and legal aide, the 29 year old Village Master of Kurain, Maya Fey. It was something that Apollo was completely caught off guard with, never in his life did he expect to give dating tips to his mentor...because normally, it would've been the other way around.

"But what should I even tell you? I don't know much about you and Ms. Fey to begin with."

"You know, what you should and shouldn't do on a first date!"

Maya and Phoenix have known each other for almost a good half of their lives, already working together from the moment the Fey and Co. Law Offices of Phoenix's mentor and Maya's sister Mia officially became the Wright and Co. Law Offices, the very same office now known as the Wright Anything Agency. During those years, Phoenix and Maya developed an undeniably close bond, both as co-workers and as friends, and despite the assumptions of their closest friends, the two haven't really been more than friends...until now.

"First off, let me get this straight, you and Ms. Fey are now dating?"

"Well...yes and no."

"Huh?" Apollo had a puzzled look on his face "How does that even work?"

"Yes, because there's no other way to look at it, and no because we just want to see if things will actually work between us."

It did little to clear Apollo's confusion "That's...an understandable, yet undeniably strange sounding arrangement you got there."

Phoenix couldn't actually agree more with Apollo there, he had thought exact the same thing, after all. Although for some reason, this kind of arrangement is something he thinks could work simply because of how long and how well he and Maya know each other. It was something they could try and if things don't work as expected, the fallout wouldn't be as bad...or so they thought, at least.

"Well, how about it, Apollo?"

"You know too well I can't say no to you, but I'm gonna need more details."

"Alright, but better not let anyone else know about this. I didn't call you here so you could let Trucy or Pearls know, you're all too aware of how they'd react..."

"Oh believe me, I know it all too well."

Trucy Wright, Phoenix's adopted daughter and Pearl Fey, Maya's cousin, quickly became best friends from the moment they met; and one thing the two were known for was their penchant of playing cupid with their friends. It was something that Pearl liked to do with Phoenix and Maya from a decade ago, and something that Trucy herself found amusement in doing thanks to Pearl. The duo's most recent victims however, were Apollo and his girlfriend Athena Cykes, tailing them in some of their dates, and in some cases, deliberately setting them up for some slightly awkward scenarios.

Not that Apollo had anything against it as he and Athena also found some amusement in some of the pair's antics, even though they knew if the two were around and simply played along with their tricks, as most of it were obviously using Trucy's magic tricks, which they were very familiar with. In this case, however, neither he nor Phoenix would want the two to even be aware that Pearl's previous matchmaking victims were about to legitimately resurface.

"Okay, where do I start?"

"How about telling me when and where first, Mr. Wright?"

"We agreed to go out tomorrow evening, but as to where, I don't exactly know, because I just told her I'd meet her at the park and we could just figure it out from there."

"Hmm...that's interesting. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Now that you mention it, I wanted to take her out for dinner, but I'm having a hard time thinking of where exactly. See, Maya may like food a lot, but she's not exactly a fan of classy restaurants, but I don't want to be too cheap either."

"Oh, so that's what it is." Apollo then went in thought for a few moments "I'm pretty sure she won't mind it, especially if it's with you."

"You think so, Apollo?"

"Yeah, Athena and I usually just hung out around Whet Noodle but she really liked it when I took her out to eat at a place Prosectuor Gavin once told me about."

"That sounds tempting. Maybe I'll give it a shot."

"Also, act natural, though I'm quite sure you know that by now. It's not like Ms. Fey's a total stranger you're trying to date."

"I'm actually worried about that, what if she is?"

"Beg pardon, boss? I'm quite sure you've known Ms. Fey a hell of a lot longer than you known anyone else in the agency, including Trucy!" Apollo sure was glad he wasn't trying to drink anything at that moment, for he was sure he would've spat it out at Phoenix. "I don't see any reason for you to worry, you two don't have to get to know each other anymore."

"If you say so..."

"Look boss, I know you're nervous, but knowing how close you and Ms. Fey are, I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect this to happen a lot sooner. As long as you're comfortable and having fun with each other, then it'll be fine."

Phoenix pondered on Apollo's words for a while, because besides Trucy, Maya is the only other person he feels completely at ease around, like he can just sit around and do nothing and still have fun whenever he's around them. Sure, Maya has wised up a bit due to getting older herself, but the Maya Fey that he grew to be really good friends with was still there. The same Maya Fey he now grew to love.

"You know what, Apollo, I think that's just what I needed to hear. Thanks a lot."

"Happy to help, boss."

* * *

"Wow! That's great to hear, Maya! Finally, you and the boss are getting together!"

"Yep, that's how it's gonna be. Still, I thought I'd come by to ask you about a few things I think you can help me with."

"Anything! I'll be glad to help."

"See, as embarassing it sounds, I haven't really been on a date before...and I don't really know how I'll prepare for it or anything."

Athena then stood up from her seat and quickly walked over towards Maya, putting both her hands on the medium's shoulders. "Don't worry, Maya, I got ya!"

On the other side of town, we have Maya Fey in Athena Cykes' apartment, coming to the young attorney for the almost the exact same reason that Phoenix had come to Apollo for help. And while Phoenix had at least some experience in the past, Maya was pretty much new to the concept of dating. She knew what it was like, as she watched a few of their friends develop their own relationships, but to experience it herself was an entirely different thing.

What would she wear? Would she need to really doll up? How would she act around him? Those were just a few questions that lingered around her head as she thought more and more about their upcoming date. Remembering that Athena lived very near to the train station to Kurain Village, she opted to visit the young attorney, hoping to get some pointers herself.

"I don't know about Nick, but I don't really wanna mess things up on our first date."

Athena observed her intently, trying to pick out Maya's emotions "You're nervous and undeniably excited at the same time, huh? Though I honestly didn't need to hear your emotions to know that, I can tell just by looking at you right now. Man, the boss is so lucky to have you!"

Maya blushed at Athena's compliment "You think so? I mean Nick's been lucky to have me all these years, but you really think the same can be said for us as...you know, us?"

"Definitely! Besides Trucy, I don't know anyone else he'd cross the world over for!"

Of course, Athena was referring to when Phoenix decided to fly halfway across the world just to rush to Maya's aid when she was very briefly held hostage by an escaping rebel in the Kingdom of Khura'in. It was something she had expected he'd do but looking back to it, she couldn't help but feel ovewhelmed at just how much Phoenix was willing to risk just for her. It wasn't the first time she was held captive, and it also wasn't the first time he had rushed to her aid, but every single memory just makes her realize how precious she was to him, and how he was to her in return.

"We've been friends for the longest time that I don't even know how we actually let it fly over our heads all this time."

"Perhaps it's because you've been such close friends. That, and you each had your own lives to deal with at some point in your lives."

"To tell the truth, I don't think I would've even been able to bear the burden of being Village Master if he didn't cheer me on."

"I don't think he could've gone through raising Trucy on his own if you weren't there for him either. Trucy's told me how much you've helped as she was growing up."

"It was the least I could do back then, I don't think I've seen Nick so helpless before. To have his badge taken away from him and have little Trucy left in his care at the same time was probably too much, even though I'm sure he won't admit as much."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"It's a very nice feeling. Was it also like this with you and Apollo back then?"

Athena nodded, and Maya could see that Widget had turned bright pink "Like nothing else in the world!"

The two women smiled and laughed, talking about their precious ones. Athena remembered how she and Apollo became a lot closer as they spent more time together, whether it be hanging out at the office, out in the field working on cases together, or just going out for casual dinner after work. It was the same as how Maya and Phoenix became closer as co-workers, which allowed Athena to relate better with Maya.

"So, what exactly did you want to know?"

"I'm not sure, really, we're probably going to go out for dinner since we're meeting in the evening, but besides that, I don't even have an idea what to do?"

"If you're wondering if you need to act any differently, don't. I doubt Mr. Wright would feel comfortable if you'll be acting weird, just act like you usually do around him."

"I guess you're right, but what about my clothes? Shouldn't a girl be dressing specially for a date?"

"A Village Master such as yourself doesn't need to worry about such trivial matters, Mystic Maya!"

Maya couldn't help but laugh at Athena's sudden impression of her cousin Pearl "Right, right, but isn't there something I can do to make it a bit more special?"

Athena looked Maya over for a bit, trying to find something they can change to give her a different look, once Athena found her mark, she gave a confident smile.

"I think I know where to start, it's just a simple thing but elieve me, Mr. Wright is gong to be in for a surprise."

* * *

"So, why did you bring me here along again?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted someone to be with while she's not here yet."

Apollo could feel his bracelet tightening around his wrist, a clear sign that Phoenix was hiding something "Boss, you do remember that I could tell if you're lying, don't you?"

"Ugh, fine, you got me."

It's the night of the date, and Phoenix was now waiting at the park for Maya. Of course, being early was common courtesy, but Phoenix had also brought Apollo along. The younger attorney was called out to the park because Phoenix had called him under the guise of an emergency, which he didn't really find amusing once he arrived to find that his mentor had just called him out to accompany him.

"I know you're still feeling uneasy, but you gotta relax, Mr. Wright."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one on the spot here."

"Hey, I know what you feel, you're a lot better off now than I was when Athena and I had our first date."

"Glad to know I'm making myself look convincingly calm, because I'm really not."

"Just don't force things too much, boss, you don't need to act differently around Ms. Fey."

"Alright. That's one way of putting it."

"Oh look, there she is...wait a second, what the?"

Phoenix felt his heart beat faster, maybe even a few beads of cold sweat on his forehead as Apollo apparently saw that Maya had arrived. When he turned to look, he saw that Maya was indeed there, but she also had Athena walking with her, which explained Apollo's surprised reaction. As the two women got closer though, he noticed that something looked really different about Maya. She was wearing the same purple Kurain acolyte uniform she always wore, but her hair wasn't done in a topknot, instead she wore it loose.

To say that Phoenix was speechless was an understatement, he wasn't really used to seeing her with her hair completely down and he had to admit, she looked a lot prettier. It helped make her look slightly more mature, and it complemented her facial features quite well. Not that he never thought of her as attractive, but this would be the first time she has struck him as a very pretty lady.

"Thena? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Apollo!"

"Looks like we both had the same idea, huh, Nick?"

"Looks that way."

Athena and Apollo then realized what had happened and began to laugh, not a few moments later though, Athena pulled Apollo along as they started to walk away from Phoenix and Maya, looking to leave them alone to get on with their date.

"Guess we'll just see you tomorrow then, boss!"

"He-hey Thena! Don't pull on my arm so hard, you'll pull my shoulder out!"

"Well why don't you hurry up and start walking then!"

"Where are we going anyway?"

"You're taking me out on a date tonight, Apollo Justice, Maya and the boss can't have all the fun now, can they?"

"Right. You could've just told me that from the start."

"Oh shut up, you complain too much...Come on, I'm hungry! Feed this tiger before she feasts on you instead!"

Phoenix and Maya couldn't help but be amused at they watched Athena literally drag Apollo out of the park. When the young couple was out of sight, Phoenix just smiled as he looked at his date for the night. It was a special night and he wanted to make sure that Maya wouldn't feel otherwise. The medium felt the same way, as she flashed a smile of her own.

"Hey there, Mr. Lawyer. Glad to see you're looking fine."

"Wouldn't want to disappoint Ms. Village Master, after all, especially not after she goes through the trouble of getting her hair done."

"Hey, this was Athena's idea, but you gotta admit, I do look much prettier like this, eh?"

"Not gonna lie, I never expected you to go to Athena for help."

"Nor did I expect you to ask Apollo. Kinda embarassing, if you ask me, we're supposed to be the older ones and we come to the kids to ask for help."

"Hey, neither of us have really been into this thing before, so they could cut us some slack."

"That's some selective memory you've got going there, Nick."

"What? I thought it was rude to talk about past relationships when you're on a date with someone else."

The two then shared a laugh. Little by little, both Phoenix and Maya began to understand what Apollo and Athena had told them about just being themselves. Yes, they were now officially dating, but how they felt comfortable with each other wasn't any different than what it was before. Phoenix then took Maya's hand in his, catching the medium by surprise, but the way she held his hand tight in return showed that she had no problem with it at all.

"So, you wanna go and eat somewhere?" I take it you're feeling a bit hungry from the trip."

"Yeah, I definitely am. You decide where we're gonna go though, seeing as it's gonna be your treat and all."

"Which makes me glad I looked a few places up."

"Wow, you really came prepared for this, huh? Why are you never like this in court, Nick?"

"Hey, I'm always prepared on court!"

"More like prepared to bluff, if you ask me..."

* * *

The two went to a restaurant not far from the park, it was a place that Phoenix had actually asked Apollo about the day before. The place looked pretty classy, and luckily for them, there weren't that many people dining with them so it was more or less a quite place. The two had ordered pasta for dinner, and as they enjoyed their meal, Phoenix noticed something with him and Maya.

"Hey, Maya?"

"Hmm? What is it, Nick?"

"I just realized, Pearls was right all along, we do look like quite the couple."

"Well, at least this time we actually are, aren't we, Nick?"

Phoenix took this chance to hold Maya's hand again, causing her to blush

"I guess we are now."

"But still, who'd have though we'd end up like this?"

"I think the question should be why didn't we end up like this sooner?"

Truth is, they had already asked themselves that question a few times. Why didn't they end up like this sooner? Have they been so dense that neither realized how they really felt for the other? It was so obvious that it was actually funny once they started to realize it themselves.

"No use thinking about it now, Nick. Right now is what's important."

"Wow, where did you hear that from?"

"Geez, give me a break. I thought of that myself, you know."

Phoenix laughed at her reaction, the conversation was quickly turning into one of their typical banters. It was so routine between the two of them that their friends would often joke about them making a very effective comedy duo. Maya's naivety and childish view on things combined with Phoenix's sarcasm and snarky demeanor would always inevitably end up in one of these kinds of conversations. Not to mention the stepladder vs ladder argument they had going for several years, although Maya herself had grown out of it, unfortunately.

"I'm just joking. Take it easy."

"Still, what should we call each other now?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Do we need to call each other differently?"

"I don't know, Nick, I mean you're my boyfriend now, shouldn't we be calling each other by some endearing names or something?"

"I'd just stick to what we usually do, if you ask me. Besides, aren't we a bit too old for that stuff?"

"What!? You're one to talk about old age, Nick!"

"I'm 36 years young, I'll have you know."

The two continued with their banter, much to their amusement. They both enjoyed dinner more than they ever expected, with the banter just as enjoyable as the food was. It served as a good sign that they could still be able to joke and fool around with each other as a couple just as much as they did as friends. In fact, it didn't feel any different at all from years past...for one thing, it only felt a lot better than before.

After dinner, the two decided to go back to the park to sit down and just relax, and along the way, Phoenix got the two of them cotton candy. The two sat near the fountain in the middle of the park, watching as people walk past them every now and then, and Maya could've sworn she saw Apollo and Athena walking on the other side of the park walking lovey-dovey...or at least that's how Pearl would describe it.

The park wasn't exactly a crowded place at that time of the night, and Phoenix and Maya found themselves in the ocassional awkward silence as they took puffs off their cottom candies. Finally, Phoenix decided to break the silence.

"Hey, Maya?"

"Yes, Nick?"

"I...umm...wanted to thank you for tonight. It was really fun."

"Awww Nick, you don't have to. I had a lot of fun myself, I really enjoyed tonight."

"I still can't believe it, we actually made it through our first date without messing it up."

"I know right? We're actually not doing too bad!"

"You know, after all these years, I never imagined us to end up like this. I didn't even think I'd have another girlfriend, much less it being you."

"I'm almost the same, ever since I decided to focus on becoming the Kurain Master to live up to what my mom was, I never even thought of even being in a relationship. Fate really has a weird way of making things work, eh?"

"It's funny, we used to just dismiss Pearls' teasing us all those years ago, and now she actually ended up being right all along."

Maya then leaned on Phoenix's shoulder, and he could feel her body relax against his as he tried to keep still. She was still taking a few bites off her cotton candy as she leaned on him, she then pinched a puff off and raised it towards Phoenix, him taking a few moments to recognize what she was going for before he opened his mouth to eat the candy from her hand.

"Maya...thanks...thanks for being here."

Phoenix then reached a hand to Maya's cheek, gently brushing it with his fingers. The way she leaned into his touch made him feel unexpected happiness, and it only overwhelmed him as she put her free hand on his. Maya held his hand tight, holding it to her cheek, feeling the warmth from it.

"And I'll always be here, Nick, that much I know."

"I love you, Maya."

Maya smiled and moved her arms around Phoenix, hugging him tightly, burying her head on his back. Hearing those words coming from Phoenix felt just as sweet as it did the first time he spoke them. Of course, saying those words in return felt a lot sweeter.

"I love you too, Nick."

Maya then noticed something as she looked up at Phoenix.

"Hey Nick, you look like you got something on your lips."

"What? Do I still got candy on it or some-"

Phoenix then gets cut off by Maya suddenly kissing him, and he could also feel her licking the candy off his lip. He was stunned, to say the least, and Maya couldn't help but laugh as she saw his reaction.

"Oh, whoops, sorry, I guess it was just me."


End file.
